It gives us great pleasure to touch
base with you, the well-wishers
and supporters of Oru Paanai once
again, in this third issue of our
Newsletter. We hope to provide
you with an update on where we
are now with our humanitarian
mission, and also share with you
some of our concerns about the
future.

the heads of schools in the region for
help in feeding the starving children in
their schools resulted in the launch of
Oru Paanai.
At the time of its launch, we were
helping to feed 8,000 children every
school day. Over the past five years,
the numbers we feed have grown
exponentially, and at present we help
43,000 children in 311 schools. The
increase in numbers was partly due
to more schools becoming aware of
our existence and appealing to us for
help with feeding children in their
schools as well. Equally, it is a
reflection of the situation on the
ground not improving in any
significant way in this period.

A TIME FOR REFLECTION â&#x20AC;Ś.
Five years have elapsed since Oru
Paanai (OP) was launched in October
2008, and it is perhaps a time for
reflection on our achievements and
future direction of travel. At the time
of OPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s launch, northeast SriLanka
was in the throes of civil war, and the
consequent devastation wrought on
the civilian population in the area
impacted most severely on the very
young. A desperate appeal made by

We do not highlight these figures as
some kind of badge of honour, but
simply to underline the fact that there
is a continuing and increasing need

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for OP to sustain its activities for the
foreseeable future.
The outcome of OP’s activities in
the past five years …
In reflecting on activities, it is appropriate
to pose a question about the outcome of
OP’s activities. The feedback from the
heads of schools in the region is indeed
very positive. The children’s attendance
in these schools has improved hugely;
their performance in their studies also
reflects their improved state of health;
and above all, we have helped to give
them hope and put a smile on their
faces.
With all the help we have got from all of
you, we have given them hope – hope
that there IS a future for them. All our
efforts in these five years have
undoubtedly been productive as far as
helping to alleviate poverty in the
northeast is concerned - to put in
succinctly, we have indeed made a
difference.

economic situation has barely
improved.

The need for OP’s help still exists …
We must also address the question of
how much longer OP will need to exist.
The civil war ended in May 2009, and we
had all been hopeful that in a period of
two or three years the economic situation
in the region would have improved, with
peace prevailing there. Sadly, we have
to admit that this has not happened. In
the words of Navi Pillay, the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights, who
visited the northeast in August 2013,
‘the war may be over, but the suffering
goes on .. ‘ . The prevailing atmosphere
is one of an uneasy peace, and whilst
the infrastructure like roads, electricity
and water have been developed, the

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Another UN official who visited the
northeast described the region as
suffering from growing food insecurity
and indebtedness. Put simply,
poverty and hunger still reign
supreme in the northeast. The
parents of the children in these areas
continue to struggle to find gainful
employment, the farmers are still not
able to till their lands properly due to
access problems and the fishermen
still struggle to go to sea due to many
different factors – in brief, many parts
of the northeast are still mired in dire
poverty.
The election of the Northern
Provincial Council resulted in great
optimism amongst the local
population, but the Council has
struggled to get any funds to develop

the area as they are engaged in a
political struggle with the government.
While the willingness to help is there
in the Council, they have very little
scope to do so given the current
constraints. In summary, there is little
hope for an improvement of the
situation in the near future and the
need for organisations like OP to
continue their activities will be there
for a little while longer at least.

concede that fundraising for
SriLankan charities has become
much more difficult in recent months.
A degree of compassion fatigue has
set in, and also there is some
complacency about the situation in
the northeast, particularly with the
election of a TNA dominated
Northern Provincial Council.
We have been struggling to recruit
new regular donors and selling tickets
for fundraisers has not been easy in
the recent past. As we have to raise
about ÂŁ60,000 each year to keep the
food programme going at the current
level, the task ahead seems very
daunting. However, when we

The struggle to raise funds â&#x20AC;Ś
While we have been helped in our
fundraising efforts by hundreds of
people in the UK and SriLanka in the
main, not forgetting Australia,
Canada and the USA, we have to

Our children
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consider the degree of malnutrition and
hunger prevailing in our land of origin,
we are determined that OP must
continue to do all we can to keep going.
We find encouragement in the words of
Nelson Mandela: ‘it always seems
impossible until it is done’. When we
have been in a similar state of despair
in the past, some funding has suddenly
come our way from unexpected
sources, and we carry on in the hope
that someone somewhere will ride to
our rescue this time as well. We also
plan to therefore redouble our
fundraising efforts, and continue in the
hope that it will all work out in the end.
May we end by wishing you a great
New Year.
Oru Paanai
58 Hungerford Road, Stourbridge,
West Midlands DY8 3AB
Registered Charity No. 1136376
www.orupaanai.org.uk
Email: secretary@orupaanai.org.uk
Charity number: 1136376

Visit

www.orupaanai.org.uk
for the latest news,
event information and details on
how to make donations

Oru Paanai Sri Lanka
17 Yahalabedda Road,
Haputale, Sri Lanka

April 2013. The large audience
enjoyed the excellent performance
presented by Mrs. Chandratheva’s
pupils, and Dr. Sriskantharajah made
a short presentation on OP’s
activities. A sum of £2,300 was
donated to OP, for which we are
extremely grateful, particularly as it
came as a welcome surprise to us.

OP FUNDRAISERS IN 2013
Salangai Oli – 2013
The organisers of Salangai Oli, a
charity dance event held once every
three years , which raises funds for
SriLankan charities like Manitha Neyam
and Orphans Trust, very kindly included
Oru Paanai as one of the charities they
donated funds to this year. This dance
performance, organised by Uma
Chandratheva, a leading teacher of
Bharatha Natyam in the London Tamil
Centre, was staged in Watersmeet
Theatre in Rickmansworth on the 6th of

OP Sports Club vs Yarl Cricket Club
Cricket Match 2013
This annual fundraiser match was
played on 8th June at the West
Harrow Cricket grounds. The match
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was won by Yarl Cricket Club this
year, but OP Sports Club are planning
to wrest the Daniel Muthuveloe
Trophy back in 2014! About 90 well
wishers who attended the event
enjoyed a sumptuous meal provided
by Ruby Caterers and the music
organised by DJ A. Bremakumar. A
tidy sum of £545 was raised for OP
on the day. We wish to thank Mr. M.
Mahendran of Yarl Cricket Club once
again for organising the match .
Keyboard Concerts:
November 2013
Prof. Swaminathan , the indefatigable
fundraiser for OP, once again
stepped up to the plate to organise
two concerts in support of OP. A very
versatile young artiste from Madras, K.
Sankaranrayanan, enthralled
audiences in London and Birmingham,

with his virtuoso performance on the
keyboard. Although the audiences were
small, those present appreciated his
superb performances greatly. As many
well wishers donated to the event, even
though they could not attend, a large
sum of over £6,000 was raised for OP
from these concerts. We thank Prof.
Swami and his family, and the young
artiste from South India, for this
tremendous help to OP. Events such as
this concert form the backbone of OP’s
funding at present. We must also thank
the anonymous donor who very kindly
bore the travel expenses of the artiste
and his father.
Canberra Chips in Again
A group of OP supporters in Canberra,
led by Mr. C. Kumaranayakam, once
again made two sizeable contributions
at 6 monthly intervals directly to the OP

5

SriLanka funds this year. The
Canberra Tamil Centre also sent a
contribution to OP Sri Lanka earlier
this year. The OP Committee wishes
to place on record itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s deep gratitude
to this band of supporters and the
Canberra Tamil Centre, for providing
continued support to OP for the past
several years.

sponsorship monies be donated to
OP.
We wish to thank all ten of them for
their kind gesture. It is indeed in the
highest tradition of raising funds by
personal sacrifice and endeavour.
Canada to the Fore
A group of SriLankan expatriates in
Canada recently held a fundraising
party, entitled Cooking for a Cause,
in Toronto, to learn culinary skills as
well as collect funds for Oru Paanai.
The event was hosted by Maithri
Perera, who conducted the cookery
demonstration himself. A pot of
money was collected and handed
over to Mr. Skandakumar, the head
of OP Srilanka in December.

It is thanks to such regular
contributions that Oru Paanai has
been able to continue to function
over the past five years at its present
level.
A Himalayan Trek
Prof. Swami and Dr. Ambikapathy,
who along with several of their family
members, climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro
three years ago to raise funds for OP,
were at it again in July 2013. The two
of them, along with eight others,
undertook a pilgrimage to Mount
Kailash in the Himalayas, and once
again generously requested that

The staging of this event
demonstrates how the hapless plight
of the children in the northeast has
cut across the racial divide and
appealed to all SriLankans,
irrespective of race or religion.

shared heritage
humble beginnings
a sense of
communal
responsibility in
sharing life's
most basic
need - food our food, from
OUR PANAAI
(pot), with
those who are
less fortunate
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Running at Night for OP

THANK YOU VERY MUCH

One of OP’s supporters, who wishes to
remain anonymous, ran the Energiser
5K run on the 13th of April 2013 to
raise funds for OP. This resulted in
raising £6,300 for OP, from donations
from many generous supporters, in
addition to one huge donation of £
5,000 from one donor who also wishes
to remain anonymous. It is these kinds
of selfless donations which give us
hope that OP can continue its activities
with confidence.

We would like to express our sincere
gratitude to all our donors, regular
and occasional, for the help you
continue to give Oru Paanai. OP
exists only because of your help. We
must thank the following supporters
who have assisted us greatly in the
past year - Mrs. Kamala
Swaminathan (Radlett) , Dr & Mrs.
Narayanaswamy (Manchester), and
Mr. S. Yogarajah (Watford). We hope
that all of you will continue to extend
your support to OP in 2014 and
beyond.

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OP EDUCATION

OP KAITHADY

OP education was launched 3 years
ago with the intention of helping to
provide remedial classes in the Wanni
as well as in Batticaloa. Groups like
Mahatheva Padippaham, a group of
University students in Vavuniya and a
group in Batticloa, were all engaged in
providing remedial classes for students
who, as a result of the prolonged war,
had fallen far behind in their studies,
and were supported by OP in the past
two years. Their tireless efforts have
been rewarded by the academic
successes of these students. OP
Education provided support to all these
groups in the belief that the rebuilding
of a nation depends largely on
revitalising educational activities.

OP Kaithady, which functions as a
self funding subsidiary of Oru Paanai,
has continued to help in the
development of the Nuffield School
for the Deaf and Blind in Kaithady.
This school, which was established in
1956 with 18 students, now has 184
children, and is functioning well once
again, having been closed
temporarily in the latter part of the
civil war.
OP Kaithady helped in the
reestablishment of the school, initially
with the provision of equipment from
hospitals in the UK, and also with
helping to organise the visits to the
school by Anne East, a Special
Needs teacher from the UK, who has
done a tremendous job of training the
teachers in the school over the past 4
years. Dr. Ranjit Thambyrajah, an
ENT surgeon from the UK, played a
pivotal role in initiating the provision
of equipment and the organising of
training for the Nuffield school.

This year, due to financial constraints,
we are able to provide support only to
the Batticaloa group. We have
encouraged the setting up of a local
group, OP Batticaloa, led by local civic
leaders, to do fundraising for this
charity in Batticloa, and OP Education
has pledged to provide a fixed sum
each year to help this group.

OP Kaithady conducted two camps in
the school in February 2012 and June
2013, during which 84 children were
fitted with programmed digital hearing
aids provided by Mr. Tony Sirimanne
from Great Ormond Street, with
software being provided by Dr.
Deutram Thambapillai, another
Audiology consultant from the UK.

An inaugural meeting of OP Batticaloa
was held on 16th of December 2013,
and Dr. Muthuveloe and Mr.
Skandakumar attended the meeting on
behalf of OP. A committee was elected
with Dr. Thirukumaran as Chairman.
We hope that the new committee will
play an active role in providing
remedial education classes in
Batticaloa.

The report from the teachers in the
school is that it has made a
tremendous difference to these
childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lives. In October 2013,
Anne along with Liz Barton and
Vasuki Rajasingham, made another
visit to Kaithady and provided further

Feeding the hungry is a greater
work than raising the dead.
Chrysostom,St. John
A. D. 349 - 407
Archbishop of Constantinople
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OP FORTHCOMING EVENTS
Yarl CC vs OP Sports Club

teacher training and conducted
workshops for a large number of
teachers. OP Kaithady, along with
other charities in the UK, provided
financial support for this visit.

The date and venue for this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
match will be on the website soon.
Please do come along and enjoy the
cricket, music and food, while helping
to raise funds for OP.

A comprehensive plan for establishing
a state of the art Audiology Unit, has
been drawn up by Mr. Padman
Ratnesar, and it is hoped that support
would be forthcoming from a number of
national and international groups for
this project.

Cultural Event in Ruislip
21st June 2014
The group of OP supporters, who
organised the very first OP fundraiser
in June 2009 in the Winston Churchill
Hall in Ruislip, at which a number of
highly talented youngsters

OP Kaithady also plans to be
associated actively with this worthy
project.

showcased their talent, are planning to
stage ‘An Evening of Carnatic
Entertainment with Bharathanatyam' at
the same venue – Winston Churchill
Hall in Pinn Way, Ruislip on the 21st of
June 2014. Those of you who attended
the performance in 2009 will recall that
the performances were of a very high
standard, which was enjoyed hugely by
the large audience present. The funds
raised this year will be shared between
Oru Paanai and CANE. Please put the
date in your diary as it promises to be
another high quality show, not
forgetting the fact that it will also raise
funds for two very deserving causes.

AND FINALLY, AN APPEAL …
As we have highlighted above, the
abject poverty that prevailed in
northeast SriLanka which impacted
most on the vulnerable children, has
not been alleviated. Visiting UN
officials have seen for themselves the
dreadful situation and drawn
attention to it in their reports. We in
OP have to redouble our efforts to
maintain the level of support we
currently provide to these
impoverished children, the innocent
victims of a prolonged war and a
neglectful government which has
other priorities. Those of us who have
some attachment to our homeland
cannot afford to ignore the plight of
these hapless children.

OP FINANCES
OP’s accounts are audited every year
by A.G. Sarma & Co., Chartered
Accountants in SriLanka and by
Crompton & Co. Chartered
Accountants, Coventry UK, and are
submitted to the authorities in Sri
Lanka and to the Charity Commission
in the UK. If any donor wishes to have
sight of them, we will be happy to send
them a summary of our accounts for
2013.

While we are certain that all of you
help other equally deserving charities
working to improve the lives of our
less well off compatriots in SriLanka,
we wish to make a fervent appeal for
help from you. When there are little
children at the point of starvation, we
cannot walk on by, turning a blind eye
to their plight. If we do not receive
more support from more caring
people, we will regretfully have to
curtail the number of schools we
support, painful as it will be.

OP’s outgoings for the Food
Programme are at present £60,000 per
year, a considerable increase on the
previous year. We receive a regular
income of £1,000 per month from our
regular donors, which along with
contributions from friends who donate
on an annual basis, amounts to around
£15,000 per annum.

We hope that you will join us in
collecting more sorely needed funds.
Some of the ways in which you can
help are:

Fundraising events, and generous one
off donations from friends, provide the
balance needed to meet our budget.
Meeting our target for raising sufficient

 Regular donors can increase their
monthly donations. Those who
10

donate £10 per month may wish to
consider increasing their donations
by at least £5 per month.

 If any youngster is looking for a
charity to donate to, when running
a marathon or half marathon ,
please put forward the name of OP.

 Any wellwishers who are not regular
donors yet, may wish to start
contributing on a monthly basis.
Direct debit forms are available on
the OP Website for downloading. If
you have any difficulty in
downloading it, please contact our
Treasurer, Dr. Rajakumaran, on
nada.raj@btinternet.com, for a form.

 You may wish to emulate the
actions of the charity One Child
Foundation, which has adopted
schools in the Kayts region from
July 2013, and pays for the feeding
programme in those schools, under
the aegis of Oru Paanai.
 Please put your thinking caps on
and think of other original ways of
raising funds for us.

 If you are organising a charity coffee
morning or dosai dinner, please
consider OP as a possible recipient.

We would gladly receive any sum,
large or small. On behalf of the
children in northeast SriLanka, we
wish to say thank you very much and
God bless you.

 If any friend / relative is looking for a
charity to donate to, in lieu of
receiving presents for a special
birthday or anniversary, please
suggest OP.